Dynasty

NHL 09 Dynasty

Dynasty mode has become a mainstay of EA Sports titles. NCAA Football, Madden, NBA Live, etc all allow you to take control of any professional team and turn it into a dynasty. Not only are you able to play every game, but you are put in the general manager's position, responsible for player contracts, trades, drafting, scouting, training, and even setting the ticket prices. With so many tasks, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. Read the following section for a helping hand.

Set Up

As you're setting up your dynasty, you will have a number of settings to play with. Skill level (game difficulty), period length, which rules are adhered to, and how the playoffs work are just some of those options. Take the time to adjust the settings to your liking. Chances are, however, most of the default settings will work just fine for you.

After you've got the settings configured, you are now able to select the team you want to take over. You'll probably have a favorite team, so go ahead and pick it. If you aren't a big hockey fan, you have a lot of different ways to look at this. You could take a sub-par team with the intent of drastically improving them over a period of time, or you could just take the easy road and choose a good team and keep them in good shape for the fifteen seasons you'll be in control of them.

After you choose your team and change the general manager's name to something more personal, you will have to deal with those teams which are not compliant with the NHL salary cap. You can either have the CPU "fix" the rosters or you can choose to play without the salary cap. While playing without the salary cap may sound like fun, it will take away from the realism NHL 09 offers.